Chernobyl
CHERNOBYL
On April 26, 1986, a hellish white glow bejeweled a small, little-known town in central Ukraine, now notoriously recognized by the international community as Chernobyl. During the early morning hours of the twenty-sixth, operators had been running an ill-conceived experiment on reactor unit number four, during which a spike in the operating level of the core caused a catastrophic explosion. The resulting eruption of radionuclides, both from the initial explosion and from the subsequent fires, turned much of the Ukrainian countryside into a radioactive wasteland. Furthermore, prevailing winds blew radioactive clouds of particles over a large swath of Europe, irradiating many countries and endangering the overall food supply of the entire continent. Examining both short-term hazards, and long-term effects, many in the scientific community have proclaimed Chernobyl the worst environmental disaster ever (Read 66-73). It is the purpose of this paper to fully investigate every aspect of this colossal crisis. How bad was the accident? What caused it and how was it fixed? Finally, and most importantly, can humanity learn from its mistakes and prevent further such mishaps?
The Accident
Situated 65 miles north of Kiev in Ukraine next to the small town of Pripyat, the Chernobyl power station included four reactors, each with an estimated output of a thousand megawatts. Unbeknownst to the nearby residents, a dangerous experiment was conducted on reactor unit four during the early morning of April 26, 1986. Unfortunately, the Chernobyl operators breached numerous safety protocols in order to continue with their endeavor that hinted at disaster from the very beginning (Martin 16-19).
At approximately 1:23 AM on April 26, operators within the Chernobyl complex heard numerous thuds emanating from deep inside the reactor building. These ominous sounds were shortly followed by a horrifically sickening crash and an explosion which ripped through the reactor complex
On April 26, 1986, a hellish white glow bejeweled a small, little-known town in central Ukraine, now notoriously recognized by the international community as Chernobyl. During the early morning hours of the twenty-sixth, operators had been running an ill-conceived experiment on reactor unit number four, during which a spike in the operating level of the core caused a catastrophic explosion. The resulting eruption of radionuclides, both from the initial explosion and from the subsequent fires, turned much of the Ukrainian countryside into a radioactive wasteland. Furthermore, prevailing winds blew radioactive clouds of particles over a large swath of Europe, irradiating many countries and endangering the overall food supply of the entire continent. Examining both short-term hazards, and long-term effects, many in the scientific community have proclaimed Chernobyl the worst environmental disaster ever (Read 66-73). It is the purpose of this paper to fully investigate every aspect of this colossal crisis. How bad was the accident? What caused it and how was it fixed? Finally, and most importantly, can humanity learn from its mistakes and prevent further such mishaps?
The Accident
Situated 65 miles north of Kiev in Ukraine next to the small town of Pripyat, the Chernobyl power station included four reactors, each with an estimated output of a thousand megawatts. Unbeknownst to the nearby residents, a dangerous experiment was conducted on reactor unit four during the early morning of April 26, 1986. Unfortunately, the Chernobyl operators breached numerous safety protocols in order to continue with their endeavor that hinted at disaster from the very beginning (Martin 16-19).
At approximately 1:23 AM on April 26, operators within the Chernobyl complex heard numerous thuds emanating from deep inside the reactor building. These ominous sounds were shortly followed by a horrifically sickening crash and an explosion which ripped through the reactor complex